DE9101288U1 - LAN interface - Google Patents

Description

KLUNKER · SCHMITT-NILSON · HIRSCH PATENT ATTORNEYS

EUrtOPEAU >'A1 ENl AlTOKNEYS

K 35 280/6wa 5 February 1991

AMP Incorporated Harrisburg, PA
USA

LAN interface

The present invention relates to an interface for a local area network connection system and to a plated junction box for the interface, which has flexible and resilient plated spring arms for grounding the plated junction box to a metal plate.

US-PS 4 756 695 discloses such a LAN interface. This arrangement includes a wall box for receiving connectors that can be connected to card edge connectors that are

In the US patent cited, the wall box is plated to provide EMI/RF shielding. In the commercially available form of this interconnect system, two threaded inserts are provided along the side walls that allow the box to be mounted through an opening adjacent to a panel and to sit flush against the back of the panel such that the plated box is grounded to the metallic panel. Although the interconnect system discussed above is quite advantageous, a need has arisen for a self-locking and self-grounding system that is easier for the user to mount to the panels.

An object of the present invention is to provide a network interface outlet system that is easier for the user to install into the panels.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a network interface outlet system having a grounding element that is resilient and has a large range of deflection to accommodate varying panel thicknesses.

According to the present invention, a LAN outlet jack assembly is provided, comprising an outlet device with at least one open cavity for receiving a connector for the network, the outlet device being made of a metallically plated dielectric material and having an integral

formed locking device with a locking surface pointing in a first direction. Furthermore, the outlet device has at least one flexible plated grounding arm formed integrally therewith with a grounding surface pointing in a direction opposite to the first direction. In this way, when the outlet device is arranged in a through opening of a plate, the plate is enclosed between the locking surface and the grounding surface and the outlet device is grounded to the plate.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, two grounding arms extend from the side surfaces of the outlet device.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the grounding arms are arc-shaped and the grounding surface is mounted between the arc ends.

Furthermore, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the front and rear surfaces of the grounding arms are corrugated so that the grounding arms can bend forward and backward while preventing cracking of the metallic plating.

According to a further development of the invention, a LAN socket for a shielded electrical data cable is created, as specified in claim 5.

Preferred further training courses arise from the subclaims.

The invention and further developments of the invention are explained in more detail below using the drawings of several exemplary embodiments. The drawings show:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of the components of the interface system in their exploded state;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the plated junction box and card edge connector;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a rear shielding element shown pulled away from the plated junction box;

Fig. 4 is a side view showing the junction box in a panel cutout-snap-locked configuration;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the front of the shielded box according to the invention, showing the plate and its cutout in dashed lines;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the rear of the junction box according to the invention;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view along lines 7-7

Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a connector device for connecting conductors to a card edge;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the connector of Fig. 8 taken along lines 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a hybrid data connector;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the hermaphrodite electrical connector in its fully assembled state;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the hermaphrodite electrical connector ready for insertion into a corresponding adapter insert;

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the rear of the data interface assembly adapter insert;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the front of the adapter insert for the shielded data interface assembly;

Fig. 15 is a sectional view through the shielded data interface assembly showing the locking tabs on the data interface assembly in a locked configuration with an adapter insert;

Fig. 16 is a sectional view of an alternative connection system with an adapter insert for a modular socket, showing the locking tongues when locking the modular socket to the adapter insert; and

Fig. 17 is a sectional view of the data interface assembly in a state inserted into a corresponding adapter insert and ready for connection to a matching electrical hybrid connector.

As seen with reference to Fig. 1, the LAN interface includes a plated and shielded outlet box 2, a card edge connector 150 insertable through the back of the shielded outlet box 2 and receiving through the front thereof a data connector assembly 200 which is locked to an adapter insert 300. A faceplate 400 can then be placed over the adapter insert 300 and snap-locked into engagement with the shielded outlet box 2. Referring now to Fig. 2, the shielded outlet box 2 will now be described in more detail.

The outlet box 2 has a front connection side 4 and a rear connector receiving side 6. The outlet box 2 is defined by an upper wall 8, side walls 10 and 12 and a lower wall 14. Extending from the upper and lower walls 8 and 14 are locking elements 16 which have ramp surfaces 18 and rear locking

surfaces 20. The front connection side is defined by front edges 22 of the upper and lower walls 8 and 10 and by front edges 23 of the side walls 10 and 12. On the inner surface of both side walls 10 and 12 there is a locking structure 24 which has a ramp surface 27 and a rear locking surface 26.

Externally of the side walls 10 and 12 are flanges 30 having integrally formed flexible arms 32 having integrally formed forwardly facing grounding stops 34. As best seen in Fig. 4, the flexible arms 32 have a meandering or undulating configuration which allows the resilient arms to bend without causing cracking of the plating material applied to the resilient arms 32. These side walls 10 and 12 have locking members 40, 46 and 50 and a T-bar member 54 which will be discussed below. Towards the rear edge of the upper wall 8 is provided a rear bar 70 having individual bar surfaces 72, 74 and 76. As best seen in Figures 2 and 4, the bar 70 extends over an opening 80 at each end, which is provided for lateral insertion of a shielded cable from either direction.

As can be seen with reference to Fig. 3, the shielded assembly further includes a rear shielding element 100 having an upper and

a bottom wall 102, 104 and side walls 106 and 108. The top and bottom walls and the side walls are integrally formed with a rear shield wall 110. The shield side walls 106 and 108 have openings 112, 114 and 116 which are used for locking the shield element to the clad outlet box 2. Furthermore, the side walls 106 and 108 have a slot 118 which cooperates with the T-bar 54 of this clad outlet box to prevent outward movement of the side walls 106 and 108. Finally, the shielding element 100 has upper tab elements 120 which can be bent inwardly from either side of the outlet box 2 to receive a shielded cable assembly and can be received in the opening 80 of the outlet box 2. A shielding clip 140 used in conjunction with the shielded outlet box 2 comprises a U-shaped clip portion 142 and an arm 144. As can be seen in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the outlet box 2 has a vertical wall 64 in its interior which extends downwardly from the upper wall 8 between the side walls 10 and 12. This vertical wall 64 defines a forward-facing locking surface 68, as can best be seen in Figs. 5 and 7.

Referring now to Fig. 10, the data interface assembly 200 is explained in more detail. The assembly 200 includes a housing 202, terminals 214, a stuffing cap 220, upper and lower shielding elements 260, 230 and a printed circuit board 280. The housing 202, the terminals

214 and stuffing cap 220 are similar in design to the housing, terminals and stuffing cap as disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,193,654 and 4,501,459, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application.

The insulating housing 202 has a bottom 205 and upstanding side walls 204 extending forwardly therefrom to define a connection end 2. There are also two shield receiving slots 208 in the housing 2. There are terminal receiving slots 210 in the bottom 205 and ribs 206 extending from the side walls 204 on the outside of the housing 202. Channels 212 extend along the inner surface of the side walls 204 and are generally laterally aligned with the ribs.

The contact terminal 214 has a resilient contact area 218 as shown and an insulation displacement area 216, the latter having an insulation displacement slot 217 . Above the housing 202 shown in Fig. 10 is the stuffing cap 220, which has alignment ribs 222 and conductor receiving slots 226.

A lower shielding element 230 is arranged under the housing 202 shown in Fig. 10, which has a base element 240 and side walls 232 projecting up from it. Shielding wing areas 234 extend forwards from the side walls 232, with two locking tongues 236 on these wing areas.

areas 234 are punched out. Two pairs of locking slots 248 and 250 are provided in the upwardly projecting side walls 232. Two shield wing areas 238 extend forwardly from the bottom 240 and a locking tongue 242 and a mounting tab 246 for a printed circuit board 280 are also punched out of the bottom area 240. A lower shield area also has a receiving slot 244 for the printed circuit board 280.

In Fig. 10, an upper shielding element 260 is shown above the stuffing cap 220, which has shielding wings 262 extending forward. Two locking lugs 270 extend outward from the side edges of this shielding element. A locking tongue 264 and a fastening tab 266 for the printed circuit board 280 are punched out of the shielding element 260. At the front area of the upper shielding element 260 there is a receiving slot 268 for the printed circuit board.

Also shown in Fig. 10 is the printed circuit board 280 having mounting surfaces 282, wire receiving slots 288, and a recess area. The printed circuit board 280 also includes printed circuit traces 284 thereon, which are shown in Fig. 12.

Referring to Figures 12, 13 and 14, the data interface assembly adapter insert 300 is shown in more detail. The adapter 300 has side walls 304 and end walls 302. Extending forwardly from the side walls 304 are two snap lock members 306 having an insertion portion 108 and a rear locking surface 310 as shown in Figure 12. Although the adapter 300 is molded from a plastic material, the entire interior of the adapter is plated with a conductive material 312 for shielding purposes. As can be seen more clearly in Figure 14, on the inside of the end walls 302 are two locking shoulders 320 extending from the inner surface of the end walls 302. Extending from the inner surface of one of the side walls 304 is a T-bar 314 having a leg portion 318 and an introduction surface 316. Opposite the T-bar 314 is a T-slot 326 having an introduction surface 328 and a rear wall 330 as seen in Figure 15. A data interface assembly receiving area 322 is defined by the side walls and the inner surfaces of the adapter 300.

8 and 9, there is shown in detail the card edge connector 150 which is similar to the card edge connector disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,860,318, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference into the present invention. The connector 150 has a top surface 152, a bottom surface 154, side walls 160, shoulders 174, inwardly offset side walls 162, and a rear wall 158.

Terminal receiving slots 172 extend inwardly from rear wall 158 for receiving contact terminals 180. Contact terminals 180 include a barrel-like insulation displacement terminal portion 182 and a resilient contact portion 184. Also shown in Fig. 9 is a stuffing cap 190 having a stuffing pin 192 with a circular opening 194 surrounding it. The outside diameter of stuffing pin 192 is smaller than the inside diameter of barrel-like insulation displacement portion 182. The stuffing cap also includes wire receiving slots 196. As seen in Figs. 8 and 9, card edge connector 150 includes a locking member 164 extending from rear wall 158 over top wall 152. The locking member 164 includes an insertion portion with a rear locking surface 168.

To connect a shielded cable 130, it is first necessary to assemble the shielded data interface assembly 200. Referring to Fig. 10, the terminals 214 must first be mounted in the housing 202. The side edges of the terminals 214 are received in connection grooves 210 in the base 205. When the terminals 214 are fully assembled, the resilient contact area 218 is located in the front connection end 203. The individual conductors 214 can then be connected to the barrel area or sleeve area of the respective terminal 216 by placing the individual conductors in their wire receiving slots 226 of the stuffing cap 220. When the

With four conductors in position in the respective wire receiving slots 226 in the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, the cap 220 is then lowered onto the housing 202, placing the locking ribs 222 in the stuffing cap receiving slots, thereby aligning the stuffing pins (not shown) in the stuffing cap with the sleeve terminals 216 and forcing the individual conductors 224 into the respective sleeve 216, thereby terminating the respective conductors in the respective slots 217.

The upper and lower shield covers 260, 230 are then mounted on the housing 202, whereby the contact terminals 214 are completely shielded. The lower cover 230 is first placed over the lower portion of the housing with the mounting ribs 206 fitting into the mounting slots 248 in the side walls 232. The upper shield cover 260 can then be placed over the housing with the shield wings 262 placed in the receiving slots 208 and the locking tabs 270 placed in the mounting slots 250. The circuit board is then connected to the shielding elements by sliding the cutout area 286 of the circuit board 280 over the upper and lower shielding elements 260, 230 and sliding it into the slots 268 and 244 of the upper and lower shielding elements 260, 230, respectively. This brings the circuit board mounting tabs or mounting surfaces 282 into alignment with the mounting tabs 266 and 246 of the shielding elements.

The mounting pads 282 are then soldered to the mounting tabs 266, 246 to mechanically mount the circuit board 280 to the shielding elements 230, 260 and to electrically connect grounding tracks 290 provided on the circuit board 280 to the shielding elements 260, 230. The individual conductors 224 can then be soldered to solder pads 288 on the circuit board 280 to connect the individual conductors 224 to the conductor tracks 284. In this final assembled state, the resilient contact area 218 is electrically connected to the conductor tracks 284 on the circuit board 280, via the contact terminals 214 and the individual conductors 224, and the shielding elements 230, 260 are jointly connected to the ground tracks 290.

The completed data interface assembly 200 can now be assembled into a corresponding data connector adapter 300 as shown in Fig. 12. The data interface assembly 200 is assembled into the assembly receiving area 322, with the assembly 200 sliding into the receiving area until the fastening tabs 236 lock over the locking shoulders 320 of the adapter 300, thereby also placing the fastening tabs 242 in abutment with the front surfaces 332 (Fig. 13) of the adapter 300. When the fastening tabs or locking tongues 236 are in their locked position over the shoulders 320, they are simultaneously biased in a resilient manner against the inner surface of the end walls 302 and since the inner

surface of the adapter 300 is completely plated with plating material 312, the tabs 23 6 prestressed against the end walls 302 connect the shielding elements 230 and 260 together with the plating material 312.

The individual conductors of a shielded cable are then connected to the contact terminals 180 of the card edge connector 150. Each individual conductor is placed in the wire receiving slot 196 of the stuffing cap 190 (Fig. 9) and then connected to the respective insulation displacement sleeve 182. Once the individual conductors are connected to the contact terminals 180, the card edge connector 150 can be inserted into the outlet box 2 through the rear side 6 as shown in Fig. 2. The card edge connector is thereby pushed forward into the cavity until the locking surface 168 shown in Fig. 9 is locked over the forward-facing locking surface shown in Fig. 7 in the outlet housing or outlet box.

To prepare a shielded data cable, the outer insulation covering the shield braid should be removed over an area adjacent to the card edge connector. This exposes an area of the shield braid and the shielded data cable is threaded through the opening 80 of the housing element 2 shown in Fig. 2. The grounding clip 140 is then clipped onto one of the three strip areas 72, 74 or 76 and the tab element 144 presses the shield braid against a

counter surface or contact surface 60 provided below the strip areas and in contact with their sharp edges, as shown in Fig. 7. The outer shielding element 100 can now be inserted from the rear of the box, the slots 118 on the T-bar element 54 being able to slide along the outlet box 2 and the opening 112 interacting with the locking configuration 46 on the outlet box 2.

As can be seen in Figs. 4 and 5, the outlet box is now lockable to a plate P, however, it should be noted that the order of assembly of the outlet box is not important in practice. In Fig. 5, the plate P is shown in outline, with the outlet box attachable to the rear of the plate P and mountable adjacent to an opening O provided in the plate P. The locking elements 16 and the flexible arm elements 32 cooperate to mount the outlet box 2 to the plate without the need for separate tools. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the locking elements 16 can be passed through the opening O in the plate P, in such a way that the rearward facing surfaces 20 abut the front of the plate P, as shown in Fig. 4. Conveniently, the flexible arms 32 flanking the outlet box 2 are wider than the opening O in the plate P, so that the earthing lugs 34 on the back of the plate P

These surfaces 20 and 34 therefore work together and hold the outlet box firmly in the plate.

It should be noted that when the box is not inserted into the plate P, the distance measured in the insertion direction between the surfaces

20 and 34 is less than the thickness of the plate P. In other words, this means that the arms 32 are designed to be resiliently flexible in order to take into account the thickness of the plate P to be accommodated between these surfaces. Advantageously, the arms 32 are designed in accordance with the invention to be resiliently flexible in such a way that they can accommodate several different thicknesses of plates without cracks forming in the plating on the flexible arms 32.

The assembled data interface assembly 200 and adapter 300 can now be mounted through the open front 4 of the outlet box 2. The printed circuit board 280 enters the cavity first and now begins to enter the card edge connector 150. The locking member 306 begins to engage the locking element 24 and as the adapter is further inserted, the lead-in sections 308 of the adapter 300 are caused to move up the ramp surface 27 of the locking member 24 until the rear locking surface 310 abuts behind the shoulder 26 of the outlet box 2 and is thus locked thereto, as can be seen in Fig. 2.

The faceplate may now be placed over the wall outlet 2 by sliding the faceplate opening over the adapter 300, the assembly now being ready to receive a data interface interconnect device of the type disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,501,459. As shown in Figure 1, a hybrid data connector, when connected to the data interface assembly 200, connects corresponding terminals in the connector 500 to the terminals 14 and connects corresponding shield wings together with the shield wings 538 and the shield wings 262. When the data connector 500 is inserted, the T-bar overlaps the T-slot 326 and similarly the T-slot of the data connector 500 overlaps the T-bar 314.

When using an unshielded data network, a modular jack assembly of the type shown in Fig. 16 can be used as modular jack 390. Modular jack 390 is similar in design to jacks disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,210,376, 4,221,458, 4,231,628 and 4,292,736, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference into the present application. Modular jack 390 has a plug receiving opening 394 on its front face and a locking shoulder 392 on a stamped and formed contact 392. The adapter 380 corresponding to this modular jack includes locking elements 382, jack locking elements 384 and a modular plug opening 386. The

A modular socket arrangement could be inserted into the outlet socket 2 in a similar way to the data connector. However, the rear cover 100 is not absolutely necessary.

Claims (7)

Protection claims 1. LAN outlet socket with an outlet box (2) with at least one open cavity for receiving a connector (200) for the network, characterized in that the outlet box (2) consists of metallically plated dielectric material and has locking elements (16) formed integrally therewith with a locking surface (20) pointing in a first direction and at least one flexible plated grounding arm (32) formed integrally therewith with a grounding surface (34) pointing in a direction opposite to the first direction. 2. Outlet socket according to claim 1, characterized in that two grounding arms (32) extend from the side surfaces (10, 12) of the outlet box. 3. Outlet socket according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the grounding arms (32) are arc-shaped and the grounding surface is located between the arc ends. 4. Outlet bushing according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the front and rear surfaces of the grounding arms (32) are corrugated, so that the grounding arms (32) can bend forwards and backwards, but cracking in the metallic plating is prevented. 5. LAN socket for a shielded electrical data cable, comprising a shielded connector (200) having a dielectric housing (202) with a plurality of electrical terminals mounted therein, a shielding element (230, 260) surrounding the housing, the connector having a circuit board (280) mounted on the housing with an edge and having conductor tracks (284) thereon that are electrically connected to the electrical terminals in the connector (200), and a card edge connector (150) having electrical terminals (180) mounted therein, having rear wire connection sections (182) and front connection areas (184) for connection to the conductor tracks of the circuit board (180), characterized by: an outlet element (2) having at least one opening for receiving the shielded connector (200) from its front side and for receiving the card edge connector (150) from its rear side, the outlet element (2) having a rear bar (70) extending from the housing under which is a cable receiving opening (80), and at least one grounding lug (60) proximate to the cable receiving opening is integrally molded with the outlet element (2); and a grounding clip (140) attached to the strip of the outlet element (2) which presses a shielding braid of a shielded cable against the grounding lug (60) in order to connect the shielding braid to the outlet element (2). 6. Socket according to claim 5, characterized in that the grounding clip (140) comprises a U-shaped clip area for fastening to the rear bar (70) and a web (144) extending away from the clip area for pressing the shielding braid against the grounding projection (60). 7. Socket according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the outlet element (2) has locking elements (16) formed integrally therewith with a locking surface (20) pointing in a first direction and at least one flexible plated grounding arm (32) with a grounding surface (34) pointing in a direction opposite to the first direction.